


The Bathroom Proposal

by dettiot



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 03:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3514373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dettiot/pseuds/dettiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver pops the question.  This is how he does it and what happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Seriously, Oliver?"

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first fic in this story as part of my [Olicity Fluff Festival](http://dettiot.tumblr.com/tagged/olicity-fluff-festival) on Tumblr. It got a great reception, so I followed it up with two more stories. I thought I would share it with everyone here on AO3, especially if you're a) reeling from the angst in Blinded by Love and Daring b) feeling crazy about upcoming spoilers c) both or d) all of the above plus other stuff, too. So sit back and enjoy the feeling of your teeth rotting out of your head from the fluffiness. :-)
> 
> This first chapter was inspired by a prompt from skcolicity.

"What?" he asked with a grin, leaning in the doorway of the bathroom that was off Felicity’s bedroom. "Can’t a guy watch his girl get ready?" 

She mock-glared at him, then turned and looked back at the mirror, tilting her head back and lifting up her eyelid as she applied more mascara. “There’s going to be no mystery left now, you know. Not once you see me get ready for a party.” 

"Oh, I don’t agree," Oliver said, marveling at how she could talk and do eye makeup at the same time. But then, Felicity was a marvel. A wonder. A miracle.

And his, which was the biggest surprise of all to him.

Felicity. Bright colors and secret shadows, warm heart and strong mind, soft curves and a spine of steel. To think they might never have met, if Walter had recommended a different IT specialist, if Felicity had been out sick the day he looked for her at QC, if she had listened to his pathetic lie and immediately done the smart thing and had nothing to do with him … none of this could be happening right now.

He wouldn’t be standing in a gray suit, he wouldn’t be watching her do her makeup, he wouldn’t be thinking about the ring in his pocket that he was hoping she’d want to wear for the rest of her life. 

Sliding his hands into his pockets, he stroked his thumb against the velvet-covered box. Soon. Soon, he would be ready to ask her. Hoping that she would be ready to say yes. Because even once they were together, it wasn’t always easy between them. They had fights, times when they couldn’t see eye to eye on an issue. But they had figured out how to fight without ever, ever giving up on each other. 

That was not an option.

So Oliver was willing to wait. To enjoy this time with Felicity, when she was his girl and he was her boyfriend. He’d always been a crappy boyfriend before, so he liked knowing that he could be a good one. It was just a matter of being with the right woman. 

"Time?" she asked, puckering her lips as she applied another coat of gloss to her perfectly-pink lips. 

"T minus thirty minutes," he said, checking his watch. "That’s the good-tasting gloss, right? With all the times I’m going to catch you under the mistletoe tonight …"

Felicity laughed. “Yes, Oliver, it’s the good-tasting kind. You know, you don’t have to wait for mistletoe to kiss me. You can do that anytime.” 

"I know," he said, pushing off from the doorway and stepping into the bathroom to brush his lips against the back of her neck. "But there’s something about the mistletoe that makes it different." 

Sighing softly, she leaned back against him. “Yeah …”

Oliver wrapped his arms loosely around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. He was wondering if Jewish-but-happy-to-celebrate-Christmas Felicity had a lot of experience with mistletoe when his eyes caught their reflections, and he felt his breath escape him. 

Because … they looked married. From the way Felicity’s hands rested over his, to how she had tilted her head just enough to give his head space to rest against hers, to how their breathing was in sync. 

They were two halves of the same whole. 

So why the hell was he waiting? 

Swallowing, Oliver cleared his throat. “Felicity?” 

"Hmmm?" she asked dreamily, sliding her fingers over his hands. "Yeah, Oliver?" 

His voice came out in a whisper, but it felt like his very soul was shouting the question. “Will you marry me?”


	2. "Really, Felicity."

"You really, _really_ mean it?” 

Felicity knew she sounded like an idiot. Oliver was giving her that amused smile of his, the one that said he thought she was the most adorable thing ever. But there was also something in his eyes, something nervous and slightly frustrated. 

And she felt bad for having such a hard time grasping this, but … Oliver had just come out and asked her to _marry_ him! 

That was not a question she could be asked and be expected to answer like he had asked her if she wanted Chinese or pizza for dinner. And man, she should have eaten before she started getting ready for the party tonight, but she knew a Christmas party thrown by Thea Queen was bound to have amazing food and she hadn’t wanted to miss out, especially since her dress was super form-fitting and she would only be able to have a bite of each tasty tidbit. Because Thea would definitely have really good hors d’ouevres tonight. 

And … why was her mind fixating on appetizers, instead of figuring out how to answer Oliver’s question? Oh, God, did he think she didn’t want to marry him?

Wait, _did_ she want to marry him?

What they had right now … it was good. It was really, really good. Because they were in this really good place, where they had this amazing comfort level between them, where she didn’t care if she grabbed his toothbrush in the morning and he knew what to do when she got one of her infrequent migraines from staring at computer screens for too long. Yet at the same time, she felt like there was still so much they had to discover and learn about each other—a continuing sense of newness in their relationship. In him. 

She was pretty sure she could be with Oliver for the rest of her life and she’d find something unexpected and delightful about him when she’s ninety and he’s the hottest, buffest ninety-five-year-old in the retirement home.

(Because there is no way she was letting him die before he’s at least a nonagenarian. That is non-negotiable.)

So … yes. Felicity was pretty sure—no, really sure—that she wants to marry Oliver. Wanted to marry him, build a home and a life with him, discuss having children and all that meant for their lives as the Arrow and his IT girl, dinner parties and holidays with their family and shared vacations, days and nights spent together, little spats and makeup sex—oh, God, married sex with Oliver would _definitely_ be amazing—and she wants all of that. Wanted it so fiercely and strongly, in a way that she never would have believed when considering marriage in the objective sense. 

Because everything that didn’t make sense in the abstract made sense with Oliver. 

Felicity realized that the bathroom has been silent for a very long time. Because Oliver’s been waiting for her to tell him _IF SHE WOULD ACCEPT HIS PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE_.

"Oh, God, I’m sorry," she said in a rush, reaching out to cup his face in her hands. "For getting stuck in my head like that. I’m sorry I kept you waiting."

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. ”That—that’s okay,” he said softly, his eyes not looking away from her. ”I didn’t think I would ask you tonight, not like this, even though I’ve had the ring in my pocket for a month. But … but then I looked at us, in the mirror. And it didn’t make any sense to wait.” 

_I’m going to cry and then I’m going to have to redo my makeup_ , Felicity thought. But what else could she do but tear up, when Oliver was looking at her like that, admitting to being impulsive like he never was, and making her totally fall in love with him all over again?

Nodding, Felicity gave him a small, trembly smile. ”You’re right. No waiting. Not anymore, I mean, since I’ve made you wait this long, and I mentioned I’m sorry, right? Because I don’t doubt you at all, it was all me, wondering what I wanted and if I was ready and—yes.” 

Oliver’s eyes went wide. ”Yes?” he repeated, looking like the sun in the moment before it peaked out from behind a sky full of clouds. When you knew any moment the light would come and make everything different and better. 

Unable to speak, Felicity nodded her head a few times. Then, she choked out, “Yes. Yes, Oliver. I want to marry you.” 

And there was the sun, in the bright, happy smile that lit up his face. In the way his eyes sparkled with hope and happiness and love. In the way his arms wrapped around her so tightly, so strongly, that she felt warm all over. 

They were getting married.


	3. "Finally, you guys!"

"Finally?" Felicity asked, looking from Thea to Oliver and back to Thea.

"Yes, _finally_ ,” Thea said, grinning widely at the blonde. ”Ollie’s only been carrying the ring around forever. Over a month. I went with him to the bank to pick which ring from the safety deposit box.” 

Felicity blinked and turned to Oliver, even though Thea was still holding her left hand to scope out how the ring looked. She was right: the ring that had been worn by their grandmother was perfect for Felicity. There were engagement rings with bigger rocks in the Queen family collection, but the story behind this ring was the best—and besides, as soon as Ollie had seen it, he had gotten that unfocused eyes, soft little smile expression on his face. The one he got whenever he thought of Felicity.

And he probably picked this ring because it had an emerald, not a diamond.

"Over a month?" Felicity asked softly, gazing at Oliver with her own version of his sappy Felicity face. 

Ollie smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her cheek before whispering something in her ear. Felicity’s cheeks went pink and Thea smirked. They were so ridiculous together. And to think, when she first met Felicity, she had a moment when she wondered what drew Ollie to her. But as soon as Thea saw them together, she knew. 

"Did Ollie tell you the story behind the ring?" Thea asked. 

"Huh? Story? What story?" Felicity asked, yanking her attention from Oliver. 

Thea looked at her big brother, her expression faux-confused. ”Wait, how did you get her to say yes without telling her the big romantic story?” 

"Believe it or not, Speedy, I was perfectly capable of coming up with the right words," Oliver said, sliding his arm around Felicity’s shoulders.

"You asked me in our bathroom while I was putting on my makeup," Felicity said, grinning up at Oliver.

Thea nearly facepalmed. In the bathroom? _Seriously_? God, Felicity was just as crazy about Ollie as he was about her, if she let him propose to her in a _bathroom_.

"Let me tell you the story and you can decide if you liked Ollie’s way better, Felicity," Thea said, smiling a little. The Queens had never been much into their family history—at least, she had never been—but this story was one that her mother had told her once and she had never forgotten it. 

_She had been fourteen. It was two years after Ollie and her dad had vanished and she still missed them. A lot. Moira was finally starting to act like her mom again, and on one rainy Friday, she had taken Thea with her to Starling National Bank to visit the family’s safe deposit box. Ever since she was a little girl, Thea had liked seeing the jewelry in the family’s collection, and Moira had always obliged her._

_But on this day, when Thea had reached out to touch the delicate-looking emerald ring that was now on Felicity’s finger, her mother had stopped her._

_"Don’t touch it, Thea."_

_She hadn’t wanted to sound curious, but Thea had to ask. ”Why not?”_

_Moira had smiled sadly. ”Because it was your grandmother’s ring, and there’s a special story behind it. Your grandfather met her when he was poor and struggling, but he immediately fell in love with her. They were in a bar, and he took a handful of peanuts and walked over to her, holding the peanuts out to her. And he said, ‘I wish these were emeralds’.” Moira paused and this time, her smile was a bit happier._

_"She was so charmed that she let him buy her a drink," her mother continued, Thea hanging on every word. "And she inspired him to become the man he was supposed to be. He worked for eight years to be worthy of her. They got married but she didn’t have an engagement ring. But on their fifth wedding anniversary, he gave her that ring, and a matching necklace and earrings, and said, ‘I wish these were peanuts’."_

_"I don’t get it," Thea said back then._

_"You will someday," Moira had said, patting Thea’s hand._

Thea had hated that answer back then. But honestly, even if her mother had explained, she wouldn’t have understood. Now, though? With Roy on the other side of the room, and with her brother watching Felicity’s face as Thea finished telling the story … she understood.

Love was about finding the person who didn’t care if you gave them peanuts or emeralds—what mattered was that person wanted to give you whatever they had, _everything_ they had, to make you happy. 

"Ohhhhh," Felicity said with a sigh. "That is so romantic." She looked at Oliver. "Is that why you picked this one? And don’t think I’m not gonna come back to the fact that you’ve got multiple engagement rings just sitting around somewhere, mister. Because that’s just … strange." 

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, totally blase. ”So we’ve got a family jewelry collection. But no, that wasn’t why I chose that ring—I hadn’t even remembered that story until Thea told me.” 

"Is it because it’s green?" Thea asked sweetly, gazing at Ollie over the rim of her glass. 

He shot her one of those annoyed, frustrated big-brother looks that she still hated and loved in equal measure, then shook his head. ”No. I picked that one because it was the one that said ‘Felicity’ to me.”

Normally, seeing Oliver and Felicity lock gazes and forget about everyone else in the room would make Thea tease them a little. Go ‘awwwwwwwww’ really dramatically or wave a hand in-between their faces. 

But this time, Thea let them gaze at each other. Because they really were perfect together. She couldn’t have picked someone better for Ollie than Felicity. The blonde just made Ollie … himself. Into the brother she remembered from her earliest memories and the man she saw before her now with all the hope and courage. 

And Felicity was like the sister she had never had, with the way she defended Thea and encouraged her and advised her, all in the midst of a stream of babble.

"Even though that might be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard … I like our story better," Felicity said, smiling at Oliver before glancing at Thea. "Thank you for telling me about the ring—I love hearing stories like that."

"We’ve got a few good ones," Thea said, smiling softly. "I’m just gonna go talk to Roy. Enjoy the rest of the party, you guys." 

They both nodded, and Felicity hugged Thea tightly and Ollie kissed her on the cheek, a whispered ‘Love you, Speedy’ in her ear.

Then, Thea let her brother and his girlfri—fiancee—have a few minutes alone, before Thea would embarrass them both by announcing the news to everyone at the party.

Although, with how Roy was looking at her … maybe she’d get distracted by her own story for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The peanuts/emeralds story is actually how Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur met. It remains the best pick-up line I've ever heard. :-)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
